


The Spectator

by CheezLord12



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Crushes, Football | Soccer, Getting Together, M/M, Marcus Flint Bashing, Perciver - Freeform, Protective Charlie, Rain, Very Obvious Crushes, just kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29015508
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheezLord12/pseuds/CheezLord12
Summary: When Charlie needs a ride to his football game, Percy finds himself watching a pickup football game and meeting Oliver Wood, a keeper who just happens to be extraordinarily hot. Will Percy be able to turn nothing into something?
Relationships: Percy Weasley/Oliver Wood
Comments: 3
Kudos: 114





	The Spectator

Percy methodically unfolded the chair, carefully set it on the most even patch of ground he could find, then flopped down in it.

He searched for his brother’s distinctive flop of red hair on the football field, shielding his eyes from the sun.

Honestly, he had no idea how Charlie and his friends could stand to play football at all, much less with the sun beating down on them relentlessly.

Still, Charlie had needed a ride, and Percy had a book, so here he was. Slowly, he engrossed himself in the book, not even noticing when the ball came hurtling right at him.

He flinched as it clipped the side of his chair, rolling to a stop a few meters behind him. One of the players ran up to him, pausing briefly.

“Hey,” he panted. “You okay?”

Percy glanced at the ball, then at the side of his chair, which remained unharmed.

“Um, yes.” He said quickly, properly taking in the boy for the first time. “I’m fine.” The boy nodded and jogged away, to the ball, picking it up and tossing it back into the game.

Barely five minutes later, Percy tensed as he saw a shape coming at him from his periphery, but relaxed when he saw it was just Charlie.

“Charlie.” Percy said. “Ready to go?”

Charlie let out a  _ tchah _ noise, collapsing on the grass and taking a long draught from his water. “It’s only halftime, Percy.”

Percy nodded, glancing longingly at the water. He’d been unaware how exhausting it was just to be sitting in the sun. A voice from beside he startled him.

“Want some?”

Percy turned to see the same boy from earlier, holding out his water bottle, offering it to Percy. Percy noticed that he was dripping in sweat, his shirt sticking to his back and his hair hanging in limp strands on his head.

But that did nothing to diminish how amazingly hot he looked.

Percy shook the traitorous thought from his head, declining politely. “No, thank you. You look like you need it.”

Charlie chuckled and the boy flopped down on the grass as well, smiling. “Percy, this is Oliver.” Charlie introduced, waving his hand vaguely. “Oliver, this is my brother Percy.”

“Nice to meet you.” Oliver said simply. “Do you play?”

Charlie snorted and even Percy couldn’t help but smile a little. “No,” he replied. “I’m just Charlie’s ride.”

Oliver nodded, and a moment passed before Oliver and Charlie started discussing the game.

Percy returned to his book.

~

Charlie insisted that he was working on finding a new car, but he still needed a ride that weekend.

It was beyond Percy why Charlie needed his nineteen year old brother to drive him around, but he didn’t ask as they finally arrived and Charlie jogged from the car, waving at his friends. Just like last week, he ended up in the same spot, his mouth dry as Oliver flopped down beside him at halftime.

“Want some?” Oliver offered, holding out a water bottle.

Percy shook his head. “No, you take it.”

Oliver grinned. “It’s fine. I brought extra, just in case.” He held up another bottle.

Percy felt something foreign and not altogether bad spread through his chest and he accepted the bottle with a smile and took a long draught.

He pretended not to notice Oliver’s eyes lingering a little too long on his lips.

Charlie jogged over a moment later, sweeping some of his long hair from his eyes. “Hey, Perce, can I have the keys? I left my water in the car.”

Percy nodded and shifted a little before handing the keys to Charlie, who walked off.

Leaving Percy and Oliver alone.

“So, Percy.” Oliver started, tapping a finger on his leg. “You’re in university, right? Or was that Ron?”

Percy stifled a snort. “Ron’s fourteen, so… no.”

Oliver glanced at the ground. “Sorry, it’s just Charlie has  _ so many  _ brothers. Does that mean… Bill is the other one in university?” he asked hopefully.

“Yes, Bill.” Percy confirmed. “And it’s fine. Most days, even mum can’t keep track of all of us.”

Oliver chuckled and took another long sip of water. “What are you studying?” He asked.

“Business.” Percy said immediately, straightening. “I’m going to be a business owner, like my dad.” He realized it was probably bad manners that he was only talking about himself, so he tilted his head at Oliver. “What about you? A-Levels?”

Oliver snorted. “No, definitely not. I’m a reserve for Puddlemere United. I–“ he was interrupted by a shout from across the field.

“Wood! Get over here!” 

Oliver gave an apologetic smile to Percy before pushing himself off the ground and walking off.

As he stood, the edge of his shirt lifted, revealing a sliver of brown, slick, skin. Percy quickly tore his eyes away, deciding to blame the sun on the sudden heat in his face.

Forcing himself to look away from Oliver’s retreating back, Percy looked back down at his book, reading the same line over and over again.

~

Charlie had insisted that this  _ was _ the last time, that next week he  _ would _ have a car, but he just needed this one  _ teensy _ little favor, and he would  _ never _ ask anything of Percy again.

And that was how he found himself sitting in a folding chair at the edge of the field the third Saturday in a row. Luckily for him, it was cloudy and on the cool side, so he didn’t get dehydrated like the last two times.

Unluckily for him, it started to drizzle not five minutes into the pickup game, so he was forced to stuff his book into the car.

With literally nothing better to do, Percy was forced to watch the game, the drizzle plinking on his glasses and forcing him to wipe them clean every few minutes.

He spotted Charlie quickly, picking out his hair, then found Oliver in front of the goal, crouched with his eyes trained on the ball.

It wasn’t as if Percy didn’t  _ like _ football, but he didn’t love it either, and the drizzle was making it harder to see, and he could make out the hard lines of Oliver’s chest clinging to his wet shirt and–

No. That wasn’t right.

Percy quickly shoved the thought from his mind as the group broke for halftime and Oliver started jogging toward him.

Small droplets of water ran down his face as he drew nearer, clinging to the small indent above his lips.

Percy wanted to lick those droplets off.

_ No.  _ He scolded himself.  _ No you don’t. _

“I’d offer you water, but you’re probably good.”

It took a moment for Percy to digest the words, and he quickly cracked a smile.

“Yeah.” He said lamely. Oliver waited a moment before sitting down in the wet grass, which made a squelching sound under him. Percy cringed a little.

They sat in silence for a moment before Charlie came over, his eyes flicking between the two of them. “Wood,” he invited. “We’re making bets about the second half. Come join us.” He gestured to the other side of the field where the rest of the group was huddled, a halo of rain around them.

“Nah.” Oliver dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I’m fine. I’d rather stay here.”

Charlie furrowed his brow, glancing at Percy, then at Oliver, then at Percy again. His eyes widened a little, and he quickly stepped back. “Okay, cool.” He said. “We’ll talk later, Wood.” Without another word, he turned and ran back to the rest of the group.

As soon as Charlie had left, Oliver turned back to Percy. “Where’s your book?” 

“In the car. Didn’t want to get it wet.” Percy explained. “I was forced to watch the _ game.” _ He added with a shudder.

Oliver gave a disappointed shake of his head, but smiled anyway. “What are you reading all the time, anyway?”

Percy twisted his lips. “A little bit of everything. Why, need a recommendation?”

Oliver raised a hand to flick some water at Percy, not that it made any difference. “What, you assumed that just because I like football, I don’t like books?”

_ “Do  _ you?” Percy asked.

“Well, no.” Oliver admitted. “But that’s not the point. The point is that I  _ could.” _

Percy snickered. “If you say so. You know–“

He was interrupted by the game starting again, causing Oliver to jog away once more, his feet splashing in the rain.

When the game finally ended, Percy started making his way to the car, thinking regretfully about how wet the interior would become, especially after Charlie entered. He turned, expecting Charlie to be trailing behind him, but instead saw him still on the field.

He was talking to Oliver, a hand on his shoulder. Even from this distance, Percy could tell Oliver was scared. With a nod and a pat on the back, Charlie turned and caught up with Percy, leaving Oliver staring, wide-eyed, at the horizon.

“What were you talking about?” Percy asked, turning on the car.

Charlie grinned, in what could only be called a mischievous way, and moved his hair from his face. “Oh, nothing. Just giving him a warning.”

Percy furrowed his brow, simply shrugging it off as they drove away.

~

Although Charlie had told Percy he’d finally gotten a car, and no longer required his services, Percy insisted on driving Charlie anyway.

It was, after all, the brotherly thing to do.

And that was the only reason he was doing it.

He reassured himself of this over and over as he carefully parked the car, Charlie gazing out the window. Charlie let out a scoff, making Percy flinch a little. “What is it?” He asked.

Charlie rolled his eyes. “Marcus Flint is here.”

“That’s… a bad thing?” Percy asked.

Charlie nodded vehemently. “He's insufferable. He can hardly play, but he still struts around as if he’s the king of football. Not to mention, he has terrible sportsmanship. There’s friendly competition, then there’s Marcus Flint.” He sneered. “I’m going to kill whoever invited him.”

Percy, who had only come to see Oliver– _ no, _ no he’d come out of brotherly love. Right.

Whatever the case (in this case, the case was brotherly love and not at all anything pertaining to Oliver Wood), Percy didn’t very much care about Marcus Flint.

That was, until he punched Oliver.

The game had been paused for halftime and Oliver was walking to Percy’s chair. This time, however, Marcus Flint trailed behind him, grabbing Oliver’s arm and spinning him around. “Hey, Wood. You think you’re all that, don’t you?”

Oliver stepped back, pulling his arm from Marcus’ grasp. “Sorry, Marcus. I think I’m what, exactly?”

Marcus scowled. “Don’t play dumb, Wood. Just because you managed to worm yourself into Puddere, you think you’re  _ so _ cool.”

“Hey, now–” Oliver started, his brows knitting.

“Yeah, maybe if you weren’t hiding behind those gloves, you wouldn’t be so brave.” Marcus challenged.

Oliver raised an eyebrow, grinning lazily. “That’s rich, coming from the guy hiding behind that big nose.”

Before Percy could blink, Marcus’ fist had made contact with Oliver’s face.

Oliver stumbled back, and Percy was on his feet in seconds, steadying him. The rest of the group, attracted by the commotion, quickly restrained Marcus before he could do anything else, forcing him away.

Percy gently set Oliver down on his chair. Oliver looked around dazedly, a drop of blood falling off his chin. “Ouch.” He muttered vaguely. 

Percy glanced behind him, at Charlie. “I have a first aid kit in my car. I’ll be right back.”

After retrieving the kit, Percy knelt in front of Oliver who, thankfully, seemed lucid by now. He dabbed at the broken skin on Oliver’s upper lip, trying not to let on how the proximity was making his heart do gymnastics.

“Did you  _ have  _ to provoke him?” Percy asked.

Oliver didn’t answer until Percy leaned back. “Well, no. But it was so much fun. Did you see his eyes? I was scared they were going to pop out!”

Percy tried to look disapproving, but he couldn’t help the small chuckle that rose out of him. “That’s true,” he conceded.

Oliver remained silent as Percy leaned in once more, rubbing lightly at the blood. As soon as Percy moved away, he blurted, “You have nice eyes.”

Percy froze, looking firmly down at the ground. “What?” He asked.

“Ah–Sorry. I tend to say things before thinking. My mum says–“ he stopped suddenly. “Ah, there I go again.” He laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.

Percy’s face was still turning redder by the second, but he ignored it, standing and brushing the grass from his knees. “You should be good for now, but you probably shouldn’t play the second half.” He looked up to the rest of the group, who were packing their things. “Oh, never mind. Looks like they’re not playing anyway.”

Oliver nodded, pushing himself up from the chair. “Uh. Thanks, Percy. Have a nice day.” And with that, looking like he’d just swallowed a lemon, he turned and sprinted away.

~

Charlie didn’t even ask Percy if he was willing to provide a ride before entering his car the next Saturday.

Percy had been waiting for him, but still. It was bad manners to just show up in someone’s car.

This week, Percy had “forgotten” his book, and was forced to watch the entirety of the game and if his gaze lingered on a certain keeper, well, so be it.

By the time halftime arrived, Percy had cleaned his glasses five times and readjusted his hair (never mind that he had no mirror) three times. Oliver handed Percy a water bottle before drinking from his own, Adam’s apple bobbing.

“Afternoon.” Percy greeted.

Oliver nodded. 

“How’s your lip?” Percy ventured.

Oliver smiled. “All healed, thanks to your expert skills, of course.”

Percy rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. “I’m sure that was it.” He replied.

Oliver nodded. “Of course. What else could it have been?”

They locked eyes and shared a short laugh, though it faded quickly, leaving the silence to press in on them.

“How are your classes?” Oliver asked politely.

Percy tilted his head. “It’s summer. I don’t have any.”

“Oh.”

“How is football?” Percy tried.

Oliver shook his head. “It’s off season. That’s why I come to these games.” He paused. “Well, that and…”

The air around them shifted, the summer air becoming heaving, anticipatory. 

Percy leaned forward in his chair. “And…?” He prompted, his heart beating very fast, every fiber of his being wishing that Oliver would answer, would say that single word.

“You.”

Against all of his logic, against every single thing Percy had ever done in his life, Percy slid off the chair so he was sitting beside Oliver, and kissed him.

Oliver kissed back immediately, raising his hand to cradle Percy’s head, shifting so that they were pressed against each other.

They pulled away after a free seconds, Oliver pressing his forehead against Percy’s. He smelt of sweat and grass, which normally would have bothered Percy, but was currently making his heart swell with joy. “Percy,” Oliver said slowly.

“Yes?” Percy replied quickly.

Oliver smiled. “Would you like to go out with me?”

Percy kissed him again.

This time, they were interrupted by a loud wolf whistle. “Hey, Wood!” Someone called. “We’re starting the game, unless you want to keep snogging your boyfriend!” 

This statement was met with loud laughter, and Percy felt Oliver chuckle. “Should I go?” He asked. “Or we could–“

Percy coughed, gently pushing Oliver away. “Later, Oliver. Later.”

Oliver smirked, jogging away with a wink at Percy.

Although Percy would insist that he was watching the game that day, his eyes never strayed from a certain keeper.

**Author's Note:**

> I have no idea when the off season is for football, so sorry if that’s wrong.


End file.
